


every day (someone new)

by annalyia



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-05 20:19:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15178553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annalyia/pseuds/annalyia
Summary: marinette has a stray kitty showing up at her door who reminds her of someone, but she isn't sure if she wants to know who





	every day (someone new)

The sun shines brightly over Marinette as she lounges in her chair on the balcony above her room.  Eyes closed, she smiles to herself as she enjoys the moment. It has been an akuma-free day, and she is taking full advantage of it.  

“It sure is nice out here today, isn't it?” Tikki comments as she perches on the edge of the chair.  

“Definitely,” Marinette agrees.  “It’s so refreshing not to have to worry about Hawkmoth for once.”

Tikki perks up, head tilted to the side as she listens. “You might have to worry about someone else,” she warns before ducking out of sight.

Marinette doesn't get the chance to ask Tikki what she means before a familiar black-clad figure lands on the railing.  

“How are you doing today, princess?” Chat Noir asks, a cheeky grin spread across his face.  

“I'm doing just fine,” she replies with a smile.  Ever since he first found his way to her balcony when Ladybug stood him up, Chat Noir has been periodically checking in on Marinette.  He claims that he's just stopping by to make sure no more akumatized people are after her, but he always lingers, making small talk and hanging around for longer than a simple check up requires.  

Marinette thinks it's sweet (thinks he's sweet?), but she tries not to encourage him.

“That's good,” he says.  He bites his lip and glances around.  “Do you...mind if I stay for a little while?” he asks nervously.  “I don't really want to be alone right now.”

“Of course, kitty,” she replies without hesitation.  “Is everything okay?”

He smiles and it is not as happy as his previous one.  “Yeah, I just think I need a friend right now, and I know you're good at that.”  His tail is wrapped around his legs, almost nervously. 

“What's wrong?”

He shrugs in a way that is so unlike him.  “A lot.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.  Well, at least, not right now.”

She nods.  “I understand that.”

“Thanks.”

His tail swishes around, the noise of it traveling through the air and filling the silence.  

“Well, I should probably get going,” Chat Noir says quickly.  He stands, balancing on the railing.

“Are you sure?” Marinette asks.  “I mean, you only just got here. I thought you wanted to stay for a little while.”

A corner of his mouth tugs up in a wry smile.  “I don't want to overstay my welcome,” he says as he extends his baton and leaps away with a wave.

“You weren't,” Marinette finds herself whispering.

\-----

Marinette is, for lack of a better word, glum at school the next day.  Alya comments on it immediately, turning to Nino and Adrien for support.  “Girl, you never act like this! What's got you so down?” The boys nod in agreement.

Marinette frowns.  “I wish I could explain it, Alya,” she says.  She pauses, taking a moment to gather her thoughts.  “I was hanging out with someone and they left in a hurry,” she finally explains.

“Who?” Alya asks, eager to know the answer.

But Marinette refuses to say anything else.

Adrien does his best to remain calm throughout the entire exchange.  In all his life, he never would have guessed that Marinette would be upset because he--well, Chat Noir, technically--bailed on her.  She's pined over her mystery boy so many times he figured that she doesn't really notice the comings and goings of one unimportant black cat.

He decides to make it up to her.

\-----

“Shoot!” Marinette hisses as she yet again stabs her finger with her sewing needle.  She sticks it into her mouth, sucking on it gently in hopes to alleviate the pain. 

“Again?” Tikki asks.  “You really haven't been on your game today, Marinette.”

“I know,” the teenager laments.  She drops her sewing on her desk, opting instead to cross her arms and stick her bottom lip out in a pout.

“Do you think it could have anything to do with a stray cat that left without saying goodbye yesterday?”

“What?  No--no way, absolutely not!” Marinette splutters.  

Tikki does not seem impressed.

“Okay, maybe a little bit.”

“I'm sure he had a good reason for leaving so suddenly,” Tikki says as she lands on Marinette’s shoulder and gives it a pat. “You know how Chat is.”

Marinette nods.  “That's true, Tikki.”  

Marinette and Tikki both look upwards as they hear a thud from up on the balcony.  They glance at each other quizzically before Marinette cautiously goes to investigate.  She slowly pushes up the door and peeks over the edge. “Hello?”

“Hi, princess.”

Marinette turns her attention to where the greeting came from to find herself staring at Chat Noir.

What's he doing here?

“Chat?”

“That's me!”

“You never visit two days in a row,” Marinette blurts out, her confusion getting the better of her.  She climbs the rest of the way onto her balcony.

Chat’s peppy attitude falters.  “Well, yeah,” he says lamely. “But, uh, I heard from a little birdie that you were upset that I left so unceremoniously yesterday.”

Marinette bites her lip.  How could he have found out?  The only people who heard were Alya, Nino, and Adrien, and even then, she didn't name any names.

She shakes her head.  Now is not the time to think about that.

“Maybe,” is her answer as she sits on her lounge chair.

“Just maybe?”  Chat grins.

“Yes, just maybe,” she replies hotly, blushing profusely.  Chat waggles his eyebrows until she smiles. “It was just weird how you left without saying anything, Chat.”

“I don't know why I did, Marinette,” he replies.  

“It's okay, kitty.  What brings you here now?” she asks, eager to change the subject to something less awkward. 

Chat’s ears perk up.  “Well, since you were so miserable because I wasn't around, I figured that I would grace you with my presence again in order to lift your spirits.”

“That's very thoughtful of you,” she says.  “What would you like to do?”

“Huh?”

“You said that you plan on spending time with me, so what did you have in mind?”

“To be honest, I didn't think that far ahead, princess,” he admits. 

She giggles.  “That doesn't surprise me at all,” she tells him.  “Want to just hang out and talk for a bit?” She pats the chair next to her, inviting him to sit.  So he does. 

He nods.  “Sounds perfect.”

And so they do.  Their conversations don't contain anything serious, but the pair still find themselves completely relaxed and thoroughly enjoying the situation.  Eventually, though, the sun begins to dip below the city skyline. 

“It's getting late, isn't it, kitty?”

Chat stares into the distance, and Marinette can sense his hesitation, his disappointment.  “It would seem that way.”

“Don't be so sad,” she teases.  “You can always visit me if you need to.”

“Really?”  There's a glimmer of hope in Chat’s eyes at her words.  “Do you mean it?”

“Of course I do.”

Chat beams and Marinette can feel the happiness emanating from him.  “Oh, Marinette, you're the best!” He throws his arms around her and hugs her tightly, much to her surprise.  She tries not to let it show and returns his hug but in earnest. “I'll see you later,” he says as he stands.

“Bye, kitty cat,” she says.

\-----

Ladybug lets out a sigh of relief after she lands next to Chat Noir on the roof of one of the many buildings in Paris.  “Looks like everything is quiet now, yeah?” she observes.

“Yeah,” Chat agrees.  He bounces on his toes, obviously impatient about something. 

She rings the bell at his neck to get his attention.  “What's got you in such a fuss, kitty?” 

“Nothing,” he replies absently.

Ladybug frowns.  Normally, Chat doesn't hesitate to tell her anything.  “Are you sure?”

He opens his mouth to answer, but pauses instead.  “I made a friend, bugaboo.” 

Ladybug raises an eyebrow, does her best to seem surprised.  “That's a good thing.”

Chat grins.  “I know,” he replies.  “She's really sweet and I like talking to her a lot.”

“Sounds like you might be sweet on her,” Ladybug jokes.

Chat dramatically places his hand over his heart.  “My lady! How dare you accuse me of having feelings for someone other than you!”

Ladybug rolls her eyes in an equally dramatic fashion.  “Silly kitty, I was just teasing. Tell me about her?”

Chat plops down on the roof and stares out over the city.  “We’ve had to save her a couple times before. Her name is Marinette.”

Ladybug knows she shouldn't be surprised.  Chat has been a stray kitty showing up at her door for weeks now.  “Yeah, I remember her.” Ladybug smiles kindly. “It's good that you've made a friend.”

“I think I'm probably gonna check on her after this.  She's normally hanging around her room right now. Unless she's out with her friends.”  He mutters something under his breath about how their friends didn't have anything planned.  He hopes Ladybug didn't hear. 

“Right now?” Ladybug asks, somewhat panicked.  “What if she's busy?”

Chat Noir shrugs.  “Then I'll wait until she gets there.”

“Well, if that's the case, I'm gonna get going that way I don't stop you from making friends,” she says, her voice a little more high pitched than usual.  With a wave, she throws her yoyo and disappears into the city.

Chat purses his lips, but he tries not to let Ladybug’s erratic behavior get to him.  Maybe she has somewhere to be.

\-----

Marinette seems more nervous than usual when Chat Noir lands on the railing for her balcony. “What's the matter, princess?  Nothing short of a cat-tastrophe could have you this worried.”

Marinette frowns at Chat’s joke like she most definitely isn't amused.  Almost like she's heard one too many cat puns in her life (which is impossible.  There is no such thing as too many cat puns). 

“I'm just tired,” she says.

“How come?”

She shrugs.  “It’s been a long day.  School really wiped me out.”

Chat nods in understanding.  “I get that. Ladybug and I just finished taking down another akuma victim.”

“O-oh yeah, I, uh, I heard about that,” she stammers, obviously trying (and failing) to keep her cool.

“Where were you during the attack?”

“Oh, you know, I was, um, I was hiding!  Because, well, akumas are really dangerous and I know I can't do anything , but, um, I know that you and Ladybug will always save the day.”  She lets out a deep breath after she finishes talking, almost like she was afraid she would say the wrong thing.

Chat decides to let it go.  Weirder things have happened.

“What's up, kitty?”  Marinette asks before he can question anything else.  

Chat shrugs.  “I was in the neighborhood, so I figured I'd check up on you.”

Marinette shoots him a familiar wry smile.  “I’m sure,” she says. 

They banter back and forth a bit more before Marinette sighs again.  “You have anywhere to be, Chat?”

He shakes his head.  “Nope. I'm free for the night.”

Marinette twists her fingers together nervously.  “If you don't feel like being alone, do you mind moving this inside?  I was working on a sewing project before you got here and I'd like to continue it.”

Chat instantly brightens upon hearing Marinette’s offer.  “Of course!” 

“Follow me,” she says.  She leans down and opens the door, and motions for Chat to follow.

He does.  She waves a hand over in the general direction of a setteè, indicating the place he should sit.  He crosses his legs beneath him, ears attentively turned towards her and tail flicking absentmindedly through the air.  “What are you working on?”

“It's something for my friend Alya,” she tells him.  

“That's not very specific.”

She scowls at him.  “It's a sweatshirt. I'm sewing the sweatshirt itself since I didn't like any of the ones at the store, and I'm putting the logo for the Ladyblog on the front.”

Chat smiles.  “That's very nice of you,”  he observes softly. “I knew you were a good friend.”

Marinette blushes (and finds herself blushing harder at that fact).  “I mean, Alya has always been really good to me, so this is the least that i can do for her. And I-I know the Ladyblog is super important to her, so it just seemed right.”  

Chat hums in response.  He doesn't say anything more, instead choosing to watch Marinette work.  He enjoys the way that she sticks her tongue out when she concentrates, how she mumbles instructions to herself under her breath.  

“It's getting kind of late, kitty,” Marinette says, breaking Chat out of his trance.  “Don't you need to be getting home? I don't know if I can be taking in any strays right now.”

“That's fair, princess,” he replies.  He stands, stretching his arms over his head.  “Thanks for keeping me safe from the harsh outdoors, even if it was just a little while.”  Nonchalantly, he saunters over to where she is sitting at her desk, examining her sewing. “It looks good, Marinette,” he tells her.  “Alya is going to love it.”

“You really think so?” Marinette asks as she looks up at him.  

“Of course I do,” he answers.  

Marinette looks back down at the sweater, hiding her pink cheeks.  “Thanks, Chat,” she says.

“You're welcome, Marinette.”  He sighs. “But it is time for me to go, princess.  Walk me to the door?”

She nods as she gets up.  “I'll see you later,” she says as Chat grabs hold of the ladder rungs.

“You sure will.”  Without thinking, Chat leans down and plants a small kiss on Marinette’s cheek before hoisting himself up the ladder and out of her room.

\-----

“Marinette!” Alya says for what feels like the hundredth time in a row.  She receives a sympathetic look from both Adrien and Nino as they sit at their lunch table when Marinette doesn't respond.  She shoves Marinette roughly, knocking the other girl over and off the bench that the table has for seats.

“Wh-huh?”  Marinette shoots up.  “What? Yes, I have definitely been paying attention this whole time!”  

Alya gives Marinette a disapproving stare.  “Don't lie to me. What's got you so out of sorts again?”

Marinette climbs back up onto the bench before shrugging. “There's just been a lot going on, I guess.”  

“Why are you avoiding talking to me about it?”

“Because I have a lot to think about and I want to be sure of things before I talk about them.”

Alya frowns.  “I guess that makes sense.  But at the same time, you know that we're all here to help you.”

“I know, I know.”  Marinette sighs heavily.  “Boys are confusing.”

Adrien chokes on his water.  

“Yo, dude, are you okay?”  Nino asks as he heavily pats Adrien on the back.  

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Adrien manages to say through his coughs.  

“Gosh, Adrien do you need anything?” Marinette asks, cheeks red.  

“Nah, I'm fine, prin--Marinette.”  Adrien could slam his head against the table right now.  How did he slip up and almost call Marinette princess here and now?

He sneaks a peek at her just in time to see her confused expression; eyebrows slightly furrowed and lips slightly parted.

But then she shakes her head and the moment is over.  Adrien can see her convincing herself that she must have heard him wrong.

Why doesn't she think that he could be Chat Noir?  

“Well, since it sounds like Marinette needs to talk about her feelings, Adrien and I are gonna head out,” Nino says, hoisting Adrien up by the collar and shoving him away from the table.  

“Thanks, boys,” Alya says as she waves them off.  She turns her attention back to Marinette. “Are you gonna talk to me now?”  

Marinette purses her lips.  “I'm having mixed feelings,” she says cryptically.  “Like, don't get me wrong, Adrien is still the most beautiful boy I've ever seen, but...there's this guy that I've been hanging out with recently.” 

“And?”

“He's sweeter than I originally thought he was.”

“Is that all you're gonna tell me?”

“I'm afraid so,” Marinette says with a sad smile.  “I respect his privacy.”

Alya sighs.  “I guess I'll leave you to your thoughts.”

“Thanks, Alya.  It means a lot.”

Marinette stretches her legs out as she watches Alya leave. Tikki pokes her head out of Marinette’s purse as soon as the coast is clear.  “What's on your mind?”

“Adrien almost called me princess earlier, Tikki.  Didn't you hear him slip up?” 

“Of course I did.  I found it just as weird as you did.”

Marinette bites her lip.  “There's no way, am I right?  Like, sweet, charming, beautiful Adrien, well, he-he's just so different from annoying Chat Noir.”

“Is he?”

Marinette pauses.  “I mean, I think he is.”

Tikki shrugs.  “Take some time to get to know Adrien better and then make a decision.  This isn’t something that I can really help you with, Marinette. You’ve gotta figure it out for yourself.”  

\-----

Adrien jumps in his chair when he hears a knock on his window.  He turns and sees the absolute last person he ever would have expected.

Ladybug?  What is she doing here?  

He throws his books to the ground and rushes to his window.  “Ladybug? Is everything okay?” 

She smiles that wry smile that he knows and loves before saying, “I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Uh, why?  If you don't mind me asking.”  it's not that Adrien isn't excited to see Ladybug, it's just that he cannot for the life of him fathom why she's visiting him when he isn't Chat Noir. 

Ladybug turns bright red and stammers her way through an excuse about how she wanted to see how he was recovering from all the akuma attacks lately.

Her nervous behavior reminds him of someone.  

“Yeah, I'm doing just fine, thanks for asking,” he says, still extremely confused.  “Is that all?”

Ladybug glances around nervously, not looking at Adrien.  He frowns because he's never seen her this antsy before. The Ladybug he knows is calm and cool and collected in every situation.  “I, uh, I guess it is. Unless you have anything for me, of course.” 

Adrien shakes his head.  “Not really, though, I always enjoy your company, bugaboo.”

“Bugaboo?”  Ladybug gets a rather confused expression at the pet name.

Adrien suppresses a groan.  That's twice he's used the right nickname as the wrong person in just a few days.  He reflects that he really needs to step up his game. “Yeah, I, uh, have heard Chat Noir call you that before and I thought it was cute.”

Ladybug fixes him with the most incriminating stare he's ever received.  He gets the feeling that she doesn't believe him in the slightest, and that she has more evidence than this single slip up to go on.  “I'm sure,” she says tightly. “Well, I should probably get going now. I've got plenty of other citizens to check in on.” She turns to leave, but pauses right before throwing her yoyo. “I'm glad you're doing okay, and I'm sorry to have bothered you today,” she says, voice much softer and kinder than before.  “I'm sure I'll see you later.”

“Yeah, definitely,” Adrien agrees as she sails away.

“That was weird,” Plagg says.  “Ladybug sure seemed like she was unhappy with you.”

Adrien nods.  “Yeah. I’ve never seen her that unhappy with me or Chat Noir before.”

“I wonder what you did,” Plagg muses.  

“What?  I literally haven’t done anything to Ladybug recently.  I mean, sure, she’s had to put up with my bad jokes, and she knows that I’m making friends with Marinette when I’m Chat Noir, but she can’t have any problems with that, especially considering that she’s also visiting civilians.”  Adrien throws himself dramatically on his bed and stares at the ceiling.

Plagg smacks his lips and then shoves an entire wedge of cheese in his mouth.  “Interesting. Well then, I’m sure you have nothing to worry about.”

Adrien lets out an annoyed huff at Plagg’s disinterest in the entire situation.  “Plagg,” he whines. “I can’t have the girl I’m in love with upset with me.” He pouts, mulling over his interactions with both Ladybug and Marinette over the past few weeks.  “Plagg...do you think that there’s a chance that I know Ladybug in real life?”

“Well, it’s highly unlikely that she doesn’t live in Paris, so, sure, there’s a chance.”

“That is really just not helpful,” Adrien grumbles.  

“It’s not my place to tell you,” Plagg says simply.  “You and Ladybug keep your identities safe for a reason.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”  Adrien frowns at Plagg’s words.  After a long sigh he says, “I guess I shouldn't let it bug me, should I?”

“Probably.”

Adrien doesn't exactly follow his own advice.

\-----

Adrien feels eyes boring into the back of his head all during class.  Marinette’s gaze hasn't left him the entire lecture. Adrien sneaks a peek at her.  She must be thinking about something serious, considering the intensity of her stare.  

To his knowledge, he hasn't done anything to upset her, at least not while being Adrien.  She might be upset with Chat Noir for kissing her cheek the other day, but that can't be the problem.  Unless…

Unless she's figured out that he's Chat Noir.

Suddenly, Adrien feels extremely light headed and nauseous.  

“Oh, Adrien please wake up!”

Adrien’s eyes flutter open and he sees Nino and Chloe and Madame Bustier hovering over him.  “What? I mean, y-yeah, I'm fine.” He sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He can only assume he fainted, which is easily the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to him ever.  “Guess I've just been really tired with all the shoots and things I've been doing outside of school.” Adrien throws in a big yawn for added effect. 

Chloe throws her arms around his shoulders.  “Oh, thank goodness!” she exclaims. “Madame Bustier, Adrien needs to go home and rest immediately.”  Chloe pulls her phone out of her pocket. “I'm sure my father, the mayor of Paris, would definitely agree with me.”

Madame Bustier purses her lips.  “I'm sure that he can just spend some time in the nurse's office,” she replies.

Chloe opens her mouth to protest, but Adrien cuts her off.  “Yeah, that should be enough.” He grabs the edge of his desk and pulls himself up.  Nino offers to help, but Adrien waves him away. Then an idea forms in his head. “Since Marinette is class president and in charge of our wellbeing, can she walk me to the clinic?”  He sneaks a glance at Marinette. She's visibly upset, but also not denying his request. He frowns. Normally, Marinette would have jumped at the opportunity to spend time with him.

“I sure can,” Marinette says, a forced smile plastered on her face.  She stands awkwardly before moving next to Adrien to escort him to the nurse's office.  

“I can walk on my own, I think--” Adrien begins.

“Okay good, let's go.”  Marinette reaches the bottom of the stairs before him, one hand on her hip as she impatiently waits for him to follow.  She leads Adrien out of the classroom, basically slamming the door behind them. Adrien finds himself about ten paces behind her.

“Is everything okay, Marinette?”

She stops dead in her tracks, shoulders hunched and hands clenched into fists.  “It doesn't matter,” she mutters, more to herself than him. 

Catching up to her, Adrien lays a hand on her shoulder and feels her stiffen.  “Marinette, please tell me.”

She takes a deep breath and turns to him, her gaze trained on the floor.  “You called me princess,” she whispers. 

Adrien freezes, and the dizziness from earlier returns. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn't mean to,” he says, chuckling nervously.  

“It doesn’t,” she replies drily.  

“Listen, Marinette, I’m--”

“You’re sorry, yeah, I’m sure,” she interrupts.  She relaxes her stance, but still doesn’t meet his eyes.  “I just never in a million years thought that you, of all people, would be Chat Noir.”

Adrien’s lips curve downward.  “Why?” Is he really that different from Chat?

“Well, you’re Adrien.  You’re smart and sweet and considerate and beautiful and, well, you’re just the opposite of how I’ve always pictured Chat.”

“I mean, I can be all of those things  _ and _ Chat Noir, too,” he says.

“Obviously.”

He chuckles softly.  

“This isn’t funny,” Marinette snaps.  She rubs her eyes with the heels of her palms.  “I can’t decide if this uncomplicates things or makes them much, much worse.”

“Why not?” Adrien asks, tilting his head to the side in confusion.  

Marinette tenses again.  “You, uh, you remember how many times you teased me about my mystery boy?” she mumbles.  

“Of course.  You turned super red and fumbled through your words, just like you do whenever...whenever you...talk to…me.”  Oh.  _ Now _ he understands.  “It’s me.  _ I’m _ your mystery boy that you pine over from afar?” he asks, completely incredulous.  

Marinette nods, absolutely mortified.  “Yes,” she whispers, almost inaudibly. “And to find out that you’re the affectionate stray kitty that’s been hanging around my house for the past few months has not been easy.”

Affectionate?  Well, she does have a point.  He did kiss her cheek the last time he saw her.  

“Look, can-can we just get you to the nurse’s office?”  Marinette finally meets his gaze. “We can talk about this more later when we aren’t at school.”

“Yeah.  You probably need to get back to class anyway.”

“Thank you,” she says.  

The rest of their walk is in silence, each stewing over their conversation, over what was revealed.  

“I’ll see you later, I’m sure,” Marinette says as she opens the door to the clinic for him.  “I hope you feel better.”

“Thanks, me too.”

\-----------------

The second Marinette climbs into her room she hears tapping at her skylight trapdoor.  She scowls. It’s no fair that Chat--Adrien?--was able to transform and get to her house quicker than her.  Once she lets him inside, Chat releases his transformation, turning back into Adrien.

Marinette doesn’t think she’s ever going to get used to that.  

A small black fuzz ball whizzes through the air and up to Marinette.  He does not seem pleased. “Hello,” he says. “My name is Plagg and I’m Adrien’s kwami.  Do you have any cheese?”

“Don’t bug her about that, Plagg,” Adrien says.  He reaches into his bag, grabs something out of it, and tosses said thing to Plagg.  “That should keep you happy for a little while.”

Plagg frowns.  “Adrien. This is one piece of cheese.  This keeps no one happy for any amount of time.”

“It’s what I have, okay?  Stop complaining for once, please.  I’ll get you more later, okay?”

Plagg huffs and flies off to who-knows-where.  Marinette is glad that she and Tikki seem to get along better than this.

Turning his attention to Marinette, Adrien asks, “can we sit?”

“Yeah, of course.”  

“I’m sorry,” Adrien says as soon at they sit on the setteè.  “I should have told you sooner, or I shouldn’t have toyed with your emotions, or, gosh, I don’t know.  I’m just sorry.” He glances at her. “This isn’t easy on me either.”

“I know,” she whispers.  “I guess I just had you built up as someone very different than Chat, and it’s been making this difficult.  I didn’t get to know you better like I should have.”

“I mean, that is true,” Adrien says.  Marinette glowers at him. “Hey, you said it and I was just agreeing.”

“I know,” she repeats.  “It’s just weird. I thought that I only liked you--Adrien, that is--but then Chat was just so sweet and charming and caring, and acted like he liked me too that it-it just confused me.  I didn’t know which boy I actually liked.”

“Lucky for you that we’re the same boy.”  Adrien sighs. “How do you think I feel? Everyone knows that Chat is in love with Ladybug--and believe me, I still am--but she’s never once returned my advances.  The whole reason I ended up here in the first place was because she stood me up.”

“She made it up to you, though, didn’t she?”

“Well, yeah, but it still sucked.”

“Have you talked to her about it?”

Adrien shakes his head.  “Nope. She’s been acting kind of weird the past couple of months, though.”  

Marinette’s eyes grow wide.  “Uh, well, um, how so?”

Adrien shrugs.  “Nothing too unusual, if you don’t know her, but I do.  She’s been racing off after patrols, instead of sitting around and chatting for a while like always.  She’s way more easily spooked than usual too. I mention anything about you, and all of the sudden her composure is gone.  She also came by my house the other day and visited me as Adrien. That’s something that she’s never done before. Sure, she knew I was visiting you, but I just don’t know why she’d want to see me.  We’ve only met a handful of times when I wasn’t Chat Noir.”

“I’m sure she has her reasons,” Marinette says softly, her fingers twisting together nervously.  She’s obviously thinking about something, but Adrien just can’t tell what.

“I just wish she’d communicate them to me,” he huffs in reply.

“You do?”

“Yeah, of course I do!  Ladybug has always been so secretive and so out of my reach.  I’ve tried to make myself accessible to her, but she doesn’t seem to either care or notice.  That’s another reason I like talking to you so much, Marinette. You’re pretty open with me.”

An actual squeak escapes Marinette’s lips.  “You really think that?” she asks, her voice much higher pitched than usual.

Adrien smiles despite Marinette’s erratic behavior.  “Of course I do. You’re sitting here having this conversation with me, aren’t you?”

Guilt is written all over Marinette’s face when she looks at him.  Her eyes are pleading with him, trying to make him understand something that she just won’t say.  “That’s true.” Her tone is now quiet, nervous.

Adrien doesn’t understand why she’s acting like this.  She has no reason to be guilty. She hasn’t done anything wrong.

“But I don’t think I’ve always been as honest with you as you deserve,” she whispers.  This time, when she meets his eyes, hers are rimmed with tears.

“What do you mean?  Should I stop visiting you as Chat?  Are you uncomfortable now or something?  Do I need to--”

“No, it’s nothing you did,” she says firmly.  “It’s something I should have done.”

Adrien says, “huh?” at the exact same moment Marinette blurts out, “I’m Ladybug!”

“I’m sorry, you’re what?” Adrien says.  He’s surprised his brain is working enough for that simple sentence.  

“I’m Ladybug,” Marinette repeats.  “Do I need to prove it to you?”

It takes a couple seconds for Adrien to process her words, but as soon as he does, he knows that she’s telling the truth.  It makes so much sense. She panicked every time he mentioned visiting Marinette because she knew that she had to get home before him.  She visited him because she had her suspicions about him being Chat Noir. “You  _ are _ Ladybug,” he says dumbly.  “How did I miss this?”

Marinette lets out a soft laugh.  “You weren’t thinking about it,” she says.  “I didn’t really give you a reason. But you called me princess and that forced me to acknowledge that there was a really high chance that you were Chat Noir.  Which freaked me out because, well, I’m kind of in love with you and you’re kind of in love with me.”

“Why did you stand me up?”

“Do you remember what you were supposed to be doing that day as Adrien?”

“Yeah, Alya and Nino invited us to get, like, ice cream or something.”

“From the ice cream man whose ice cream, like, brings couples together and stuff.”

Oh.  Oh, right.  “And so, since you were thinking as Marinette with a crush on Adrien, you went to that instead.  I was thinking as Chat with a crush on Ladybug, so I sat on the rooftop waiting.”

Marinette nods.  “We aren’t the smartest people, are we?”

Laughing, Adrien shakes his head.  “We can be pretty dumb.”

“Glad that you can finally see that,” Plagg deadpans as he reappears and lands on Adrien’s shoulder.

“Plagg!  Be nice,” Tikki scolds him as she snuggles against Marinette.  

“Oh!  Is this your kwami?” Adrien asks.

“That’s me,” Tikki chirps.  “I’m Tikki, Ladybug’s kwami.”  She smiles brightly.

“Why aren’t you this chipper?” Adrien asks Plagg.

“Because I don’t have to be,” the kwami replies.

“He’s always been grumpy,” Tikki says.  “You get used to it after a couple thousand years.  Anyway, we will let you two get back to your important conversation.  Plagg just wanted to chime in.” Tikki flits over to Plagg, grabs his arm, and drags him away.

“So,” Adrien begins, “you like me?”

Despite the circumstances, Marinette blushes profusely.  “We’ve already been over this. Anyway,  _ you _ like  _ me _ too, so I don’t want to hear it!”

Adrien grins playfully.  “Yeah, but  _ I’m _ not embarrassed by it.”  He gently nudges Marinette with his shoulder.  “What made you fall for me? Other than the fact that I’m beautiful and wonderful and amazing.”

Marinette glowers at him.  “Not funny,” she grumbles. “It was when you gave me your umbrella at the beginning of the school year,” she finally tells him.  “You’d proven to me that you weren’t a terrible person like Chloe, and, oh, I don’t know, you were just really cute.”

“That’s fair.”

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“What made you fall for Ladybug?”

“Her confidence and determination,” Adrien answers immediately.  “She’s powerful and knows it, yet she’s also kind and caring.” He pauses.  “I see it in you, too, which doesn’t surprise me. I guess I didn’t really notice it, though, because you were always bumbling and nervous around me.”

A small smile tugs at the corners of Marinette’s lips.  “Thanks.”

“So,” Adrien says, drawing out the o for a couple seconds.  “What do people normally do after a conversation like this?”

Marinette shrugs.  “Like what? Where they reveal their secret identities to each other, or when they finally admit their feelings?”

“Both.”

“I don’t have any other examples of the first one, sorry.”

“I can’t really fault you for that,” Adrien says with a laugh.  

Marinette smiles that wry smile that Adrien has always associated with Ladybug, but rather enjoys with Marinette, her eyes shining as she tries not to giggle.  

She’s beautiful, and he can’t believe he didn’t see it earlier.  

He places a hand against her cheek and brings her in, gently kissing her forehead.  “I like you, Marinette,” he whispers. 

“I like you, too,” she replies.

Without much warning, Marinette presses her mouth against Adrien’s.  Her lips taste like sugar, and it’s the sweetest and best thing that Adrien has ever experienced.  

She pulls away almost as quickly, cheeks pink.  “Was that okay?”

Adrien smiles, feels happier than he has in a long time.  “It was definitely more than okay.” 

Marinette grins and it reaches her eyes.  “Nice.”

They kiss again, this one leaving them both a little more breathless than before.  

“Marinette!” 

The girl freezes as she hears her mother call up to her.  “Yes?”

“Can you come down here for a minute?”

“Y-yeah, of course, Mama!”  Marinette turns back to Adrien.  “You used my balcony to get here.  My parents don’t know you’re here.”

“I can always sneak out and then use the front door so that they don’t suspect anything,” he says.

“You’d do that?”

“For you?  I’d do anything.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! this is my first ladybug fic so please please please let me know what you think! I also write 90% of this on my phone and am posting it from my phone so if there are lil problems I missed I am v v v sorry haha 
> 
> comments and kudos are always appreciated!!! :)


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